The latest update from Body in Training entries. I’ve decided to keep these as monthly but I’ll only post bi-monthly.

Month 3
Never really got a good chance to get a picture outside with good lighting, so unfortunately this one had to be inside, with less than optimum lighting. Oh yeah, I got a new haircut. Does it make me more aero? My weight, body fat, BMI, and blood pressure are down.

Month 4
Finally got to get back outside for a picture. You can see my lovely plants and herbs I’m planning to grow this summer, and a cameo from Diva Kitty eating grass. Again, my weight, BMI, and blood pressure are all down a little bit. My body fat percentage went back up. I figure this is either last month’s reading wasn’t entered properly and/or I am retaining some water from this month since it’s about 5 days out from a race. It’s only 0.1% higher than BiT month 2.

Here’s the latest update on Body in Training. A little late to posting, but this is for February’s posting. I’m up a little bit of weight and body fat, but nothing significant. Also, it snowed the entire day I took this picture. Brrrrr! (hence the boots, hat, and mittens) But unfortunately none of the snow really stuck to the ground. And as you can see, Diva Kitty got a little bit of a romp outside. Hopefully soon, I’ll also figure out how to get my resting heart rate and include that in the future BiT posts too.

Diva Kitty inspecting the snow covered grass.

Left shoulder blade starting to even out. And little bit of tricep action coming out.

Here’s another new regular posting. I’ve been planning to do these forever, because friends, family, coworkers, and even strangers always ask how I come up with such strange, but easy ways to handle stuff around the house and life! I have no idea how I have learned all of these random tips, most of which are natural remedies, but they always come in handy. Now I’m sharing them with you!

BurnsEver burn yourself while cooking, or on an iron, or actual fire? One of the best and safest ways to treat a minor burn is HONEY! Yep, it acts as a natural antiseptic. Do not put ice or freezing cold water on it. Run cool water over the burn, then apply honey. I do not like honey very much, but I am incredibly clumsy in the kitchen and around hot objects (except my fire hoop). So, I keep honey around just for that purpose and it works much better than an aloe plant. However, if the burn is severe enough, always seek emergency medical treatment.

AntsI don’t mind bugs too much, but they do not belong in the house, and ants especially do not belong anywhere near a kitchen with food. But with Diva Kitty in the house, I do not like to use a lot of chemicals and set out traps that her curiosity will lead her to discover. (and believe me, she will find them!) Find where the ants are entering the house (near a door, a window, etc.) and sprinkle a heavy line of CINNAMON. Ants will not cross the cinnamon path. I have no idea why this is, but it really works. At my old house I always called summer “Ant Season,” because they would always cover my counters until I tried cinnamon. Sure I have a window sill covered in brown cinnamon, but I don’t have any ants!

Tomato PlantsDo you like to plant tomatoes in the summer? But hate the bugs that may infest the plant and don’t want to use chemicals on the summer fruits? Do you love the smell of lavender? Plant LAVENDER with the tomato plants. They repel most bugs that bother a tomato plant, as well as many other plants. Look up other companion planting tips for other do’s and don’ts for planting.

Salad
Need a way to spruce up a salad? If you’re out of salad dressing or, oops it’s expired, use olive oil and balsamic vinegar on it. I usually opt out of the olive oil to save a couple calories. But if that’s not your cup of tea, you can always use the juice from a fruit that you put on the salad, like mandarin oranges or pineapples. If you’re particular to a sweet or fruity salad, sprinkle a little cinnamon (again!) on top for wonderfully earthy, sweet addition! Cinnamon is particularly good with apples (especially tart Granny Smiths) and almonds. You don’t really need much more than a good lettuce mix, fruit, nuts, and cinnamon to have a healthy and unique salad.

Jellyfish StingsOuch! I have something in my body chemistry that just attracts jellyfish when I’m at the beach. Basically, what is stinging you is a type of protein, so you need to denature the protein (remember high school biology?). MEAT TENDERIZER is something you should pack for the beach. Just make a paste with water and the tenderizer and smear on the injury to take out the “sting.” Also, I’m sure you’ve heard that in a pinch you can pee on it, well yes that works too for the same reason but I’d really rather smell like meat tenderizer.

SunburnSpeaking of the beach, have you been out in the sun too long and fear you might burn a little bit? Take a couple IBUPPROFEN. It’s an anti-inflammatory and will take out some the redness and sting from the burn.

AcneOk, I have to admit I have NO cure for acne. Believe me, I’m a thirtysomething woman who still has breakouts on a regular basis. Argh! But if you want to tone down some of the redness from a spot, put some EYE DROPS on it. “It takes the red out.” No seriously, it really does help. I use it before I put on make up and moisturizer sometimes. It usually won’t last all day, but long enough for an interview or a date or a photo op!

We had some serious snow last weekend. (though it is nothing compared to what the East Coast is getting this weekend!) But due to the rarity that is snowfall and our city’s complete lack of preparation and logic for such a thing, we were pretty much snowed in. Seriously, people joke about the city shutting down schools if snow is even ‘mentioned’ in the forecast, but the city just cannot handle it if we actually do get snow.

After work on Friday, I let Diva Kitty venture for a moment (that’s as long as she could stand it) on to the back porch. By late Friday night and early Saturday morning, you could no longer see the cute paw prints.

So, with snow on the ground, what does a mature thirtysomething and her friends do…go sledding of course! Saturday we played in the snow for several hours and discovered the hills behind my house are perfect for it!

We met again on Sunday for more sledding. On my first trip down the hill, I demonstrated a move worthy of the Winter X-Games. Unable to stop the makeshift sled at the bottom of the hill, I hit a ditch, went airborne, and continued down the smaller hill. All of that sounds cool and apparently it looked cool, but it did not feel cool. I injured my back pretty badly from the impact with the ditch. I turned down requests to go to the hospital for fear of having to sit for hours in uncomfortable waiting room chairs, and opted to go to the doctor the next day instead. All is ok, my body did what it is supposed to do to protect vital parts like my spine and organs, but that also means my back muscles are in a total spasm. It is getting better and I am very thankful that I am otherwise a very strong, healthy person, because it could have been much worse. But to speed along recovery I made an appointment with my acupuncturist. I want to be able to laugh, cough, sneeze, and hiccup without worrying that my kidneys might explode. Nothing starts a giggle fit more than laughing that sounds like…”ha, ha, ha, Ouch!, ha, ha, ha, Ouch!”

I definitely have one thing that is wonderful about this time of year. It comes from a seemingly unlikely place. Imagine if you will, a cantankerous, aloof, snooty cat with more attitude to spare than the biggest queen backstage at a drag show. And then couple it with bitterly cold weather. It would seem like a cold, sad, lonely existence for Sally right? But every year I’m reminded that Diva Kitty loves warmth. So, when the mercury dips, she opts to snuggle up next to me and even sit in my lap on occasion. We have a sort of secret that she does this, and neither one of us acknowledges it, but I think we both actually like it. I know Diva Kitty would never admit she does this, and certainly would never let anyone know. It personally is one of my favorite times of year. (even if my left leg is falling asleep and I’m afraid to move and wake her or worse yet, lose a finger)

2009 has been a really great year for me. Of course, I’ve had some highs and lows, but mostly highs that are great enough that can overshadow the lows. I met some wonderful people, ran a fantastic race with my best friend, bought a fabulous condo (lovingly dubbed “The Bachelorette Pad”), successfully juggled two great jobs, and overall had a really fun time!

I’ve never really been one to have New Year’s resolutions, because it seems like you’re just asking yourself to fail when you put so much expectation on yourself. (though I’d really like to start getting my normally punctual butt to work on time more often) But I do know that I have a few things I’m planning to accomplish this year, and they will be done, such as Hooping the Half Marathon, and continuing running, and visiting more with Barbie (maybe we’ll run another great race together!). But I guess if I could have New Year’s resolutions or New Year’s wishes, I would make them for my friends:

For Barbie: Continued happiness (and warmth) in Canada, more healthy (injury free) running, a successful school year, and her husband in the same house!

For Kentucky: Health and happiness for her family and that she makes it through a particularly difficult New Years, and a wonderful wedding in the fall!

For Legally: A relatively stress- (and boredom-) free job, a visit to The Bachelorette Pad (ok that one’s selfish on my part), and more success with her cake/goodies baking (if you haven’t checked it out on my blog links – Seriously Sweet is seriously cute), and hopefully she’ll bring me some goodies too (selfish plug #2), and more (injury free) of that super fast running she seems to do!

For Bama: A successful school year, more fun nights watching TV (seriously that girl loves to entertain), and visits to both of our pools!

For Mister T: A happy, healthy year for his family, and better decision making skills for our lunch dates.

For Mama-cita: That her children continue to be happy and healthy, and a stress-free year with family.

For Shutterbug: Lots and lots of work that is both fun and lucrative, and an opportunity to shoot us fire hooping!

For zico01: More fun blogging and commenting (I always look forward to his comments here), and a joint blogging adventure with me and Barbie!

For all my hooper friends: Lots of hooping, pretty hoops, and success on the Hooping the Half Marathon event day!

For Diva Kitty: Lots and lots of cheese, fish, and crepes. (Yes apparently she likes crepes now) More fun looking out the window at birds, squirrels, and chipmunks. And attacking whatever it is that irks her on the stairs in the Bachelorette Pad.

I am finally home again. It feels great, and Diva Kitty is so happy to see me. (don’t worry the affection won’t last long) My final trip home was quite an adventure. Barbie had class this morning, so I stayed behind to pack. I went for my first run since the race, a light easy 2 miles. It wasn’t bad, but my right calf started hurting again during the run. Never had post-race pain last this long. I guess I need to ease back into it; I’ll get plenty of upper body work this weekend at the hooping seminars. After Barbie’s class, I drove over to the school to pick her up. Yes, that was my first time attempting to drive in a foreign country. Hard to believe that’s the first time, considering how much and how long I’ve been traveling internationally. I managed the mile or two and back without any problems. We stopped for some last minute falafel (Yum!) before hitting the road.

We hit some construction traffic in Canada. Then, while waiting in line at the border, we witnessed something crazy that held up our pass through the border. It appeared that the border patrol surrounded and arrested several Mennonites or Hutterites several cars ahead of us. We were eventually back on the road, but were caught in the web that is Metro Detroit rush hour/construction traffic.

We arrived at the airport 10 minutes before my flight was scheduled to take off. I was certain I had missed my flight, so I went to the ticket counter. I needed to check a bag anyway. The guy at the counter told me I would make the flight but my bag might not. I thought there is no way I would ever make it through security at a major airport in 10 minutes and I really didn’t want to sprint to the gate, especially with my sore calf from the 2 miles this morning. I got to the gate, and they were just boarding. Wow, couldn’t believe it. We landed on time and I walked to baggage claim. Just as I neared the carousel, my bag was floating by. No way, the bag made it too?! At some point in my life I must have pleased the gods of air travel.

I successfully made it home! So, to recap…that’s 7 days, my first snow of the season, 6 border crossings, 13.1 miles, becoming an international racer, one Ikea trip, one H&M trip, one puffio, one sinful cupcake, a Titans jersey in a Canadian bar, several funny signs, one crazy border crossing, fortuitous air travel, and a sore calf. What a trip!

Finally, we are starting the holiday season. Summer is just too long without any major holidays between spring and winter. I celebrate whatever holidays they will give me a day off of work. As you can see below, Diva Kitty celebrates this day everyday, and was particularly irritated that I would take a picture of her not “laboring.”

Well, Sally was actually laboring quite a bit today. Remember when I said I had some big news coming soon? I’m still not ready to spill the beans, but I figure I can give you hints along the way in each post until the big day. The first hint is that I spent much of today going through everything in my ‘office’ in my house. Wow, I had a lot of old paper that filled up the recycling bin. For those readers who already know the big news, you are NOT allowed to spill it here. For the others, feel free to keep guessing. In a couple weeks you’ll find out if you’re right.

I survived a miserable job to find one that allowed me to have a life again as well as a lucrative side business. I also learned how to be a single thirtysomething. Survived on my own without having my best friend, Barbie, in the same country on a regular basis. I think those are my biggest accomplishments.

Although, I didn’t document everything here, I have had quite a good time. I ran one race and have decided to train for another one with Barbie. I plan to have many more adventures in the next year of Sally.